


the flip side

by Stellonia



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, LITERALLY, Mutual Pining, Trans Barry, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 04:05:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12182568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stellonia/pseuds/Stellonia
Summary: As white threads of light stitch their bodies back together for the sixty-third time, the crew of the Starblaster truly believes they cannot be surprised anymore.Then their captain brings the ship into the prime material plane, and they sail through a lilac sky with twin suns.





	the flip side

As white threads of light stitch their bodies back together for the sixty-third time, the crew of the Starblaster truly believes they cannot be surprised anymore.

Then their captain brings the ship into the prime material plane, and they sail through a lilac sky with twin suns.

"Holy shit," Lucretia aptly says.

They've noticed parallels before - Magnus spotted Mikeal Jördan during their stay on Monstar; Davenport had an awkward run-in with an ex-boyfriend during cycle 32. That same year, Taako swears that a restaurant they ate at (Olive's Garden?) was a chain back home. Lup has the vague feeling she's repressed the memory.

But it's so much more than odd coincidences - this entire world seems the same. They visit some libraries and cross-reference the history books with Lucretia's journals.

The point of divergence is the conflict over Lunar Anise Isles, which turned into a full-on war in this version. Advancements in technology were delayed because of this - Taako laments that they still use first generation phones.

Fate leads them to discover another change, as the Light lands at the Institute of Planar Research.

"The E was added when I was a senior in college," Davenport says, his stoic expression betraying the nostalgia in his voice. "The Institute had just launched the Solaris Probes, so their work wasn't theoretical anymore."

"We've got some pretty detailed records of our research in Luc's libary-"

"Good point hun, totally agree, they're gonna nut over all this dope info. But," Lup giggles. "Did - did you say liBARY?"

"I don't think I did?"

"Uh, you SO did!" Taako cackles. Most of the crew is cracking up now, with the exception of Lucretia. He looks to her, hoping for some solidarity.

"Libarry Bluejeans," she deadpans, which even makes Davenport and Barry crack a smile.

"Okay, that's quite funny, but let's get going," Davenport says. "Put on your uniforms - and a shirt, Magnus, - we'll bring our research and give the spiel."

The "y'all about to get vored" spiel.

\---

They don their crimson robes and begin to land on the quad - causing quite a stir. Though their entrance isn't stealthy, it's certainly grand, with Lup and Taako burning spell slots on flashy magic.

The gangplank is lowered, and the crew exits to greet the large crowd that they've gathered.

"Hail and well met!" Taako shouts.

"Y'all horny for this one?" Lup adds. Davenport curses his life and wonders if the twins are even capable of behaving. (Lup can, by the way, blend into polite society when she wants to - she and Barry once posed as a wealthy couple in order to get the Light - but she sees no need right now. She got away with plenty of trouble back at the IPRE; the IPR doesn't seem much different.)

"I know you all must be very confused, concerned, or even just curious," Davenport says. "But, uh - we mean no harm, truly! We come with noble intentions and an earnest desire to share our knowledge-"

"YO, KOKO, THE LONG LOST TRIPLET IS REAL!" Lup's voice, but not Lup, screams. "FUCK, QUADRUPLET! COME CHECK THIS SHIT OUT!"

(Not) Lup pushes her way to the front of the crowd. She's got an undercut dyed a bright red, in contrast to (our) Lup and her bobbed brown hair. (Not) Taako blinks to join her, blond hair (like our Taako) that's in a knee-length braid.

"Are these your evil twins? Like, Dark Lup and Dark Taako?" Magnus says in a whisper.

"I already have an evil twin, his name is Taako," Lup replies. Such comment would normally lead to a full-on fight, but Taako's got bigger fish to fry.

\---

IPRE Taako grabs his sister's hand and pulls her towards the IPR twins.

"This is the best day of my goddamn life," Our Taako says. "No offense, Lup, but I've always wanted a clone."

Both Lup's react - one with an eyeroll and the other flipping him off.

"I was obviously talking to MY Lup - okay, you know what? I'm not gonna let this entire year be a 'who's on first' sketch. There's got to be a better way."

"He can be braid Taako, you can be curls Taako," (undercut) Lup suggests.

"And lock me into the same hairstyle for a year? Nuh-uh, I'm not fucking Hallwinter!" He snickers. "Unlike you."

"Yo, Taako 2-"

"Hell no, Taako always gets front billing!" Taako 2 interrupts.

"JESUS FUCK!" Our Lup screams. "Let's just use 'hey, you' for now. Brainstorm a bit more on the names."

(The debate over names would continue all year, but Lucretia settled on alt Lup and alt Taako.)

"Okay. Hey, you, who the fuck is Hallwinter? Keep in mind, I haven't been to the Institute for uh, sixty years."

"Oh dag, really?" Alt Lup says. "Wait - uh, dumb question, shoulda asked this sooner: what the fuck is any of this?"

"I think Cap'n prepared a more detailed explanation, but long story short? Buncha sci-fi bullshit." The twins decide that tracks, and our Lup devilishly grins, "Tell me who Hallwinter is? It's very important to me to hear you explain this."

"Barry Hallwinter, about yea high, glasses, Lup totally wants to bone him-"

"Do not!" It's as if a lightbulb goes off. Because Lup is faced with the realization that the differences between them are more than aesthetics - this Lup is not dating Barry.

"Do too! It was a good joke, you see, because he's always wearing bluejeans. Never really switches it up."

"Ch'boys got some WONDERFUL news for you-" Taako starts, before Lup cuts him off with a Look, a "dingus, you're gonna give me shit for dating Barry, and that's a whole other conversation" look. Taako didn't really get all that - but he understands enough to shut his mouth.

"So - Barold's parents didn't change their last names when they got married. They were both teachers, you gotsta establish the brand 'n shit. When he was born, they just gave him his mom's last name, Hallwinter. But he was, uh, 10? 11? When he started to transition. He was legally changing his name; he decided he'd take his dad's middle name. James - that makes sense, for sure," she takes a breath and sticks the landing. "What DOESN'T make sense is that he took his dad's last name - Bluejeans! My Barry, his full name is Barry James Bluejeans!"

In all of the laughter that follows, alt Lup can pretend she didn't notice the way her heart twisted at the words "my Barry".

She puts those feelings into a metaphorical moving box, and just like the real deal, she never plans to unpack them.

Lup's storytelling had them all captivated, enough so that they didn't notice other alternate crew members join the fray.

Alt Davenport, with a red moustache much thicker than they're used to, shudders when he sees Taacos to the power of four. "This is all pretty, well - it's surprising, to say the least, but your story seems plausible. The - what's the ship's name, again?"

He regretfully sighs. "The Starblaster."

"Chosen by popular vote, I presume." They're both laughing like it's the funniest thing in the world, and it's incredibly weird. "Yes, well, even from the outside, it's far beyond our technological understanding."

"Shall we discuss this privately, inside? I could give you and your crew the grand tour," Davenport says, and they're both... giddy.

"Certainly - I'll assemble my crew and meet you back here shortly."

The IPR twins wave goodbye as their captain barks orders at them. Lup runs, face first with her hands straight out on her side, back onto the ship.

"Yo, gang! Emergency meeting in the libary!" Lup yells.

"You - you picked that meeting spot just to tease me, didn't you?" Barry asks.

"Yep, sure did, love you so much, lets hustle."

"So, uh, what's the ethical verdict vis-a-vis clonefucking-"

"Merle," Taako groans. "Why is our priest such a gross old horndog?

"Yuck," Lucretia says, last to enter, but not late enough to be spared from the question.

"Great, gang's all here," Lup declares, before grabbing Barry and pulling him into a passionate kiss.

"Speaking of yuck! You didn't call this meeting just to gross us all out, right?" Taako says.

"I mean, as always - loving this, loving you, but could we do this lateeeeeer?" Barry asks.

"No, we can't. That's why I've gathered you all - I'm putting an embargo on all talk about Lubarry-"

"Blupjeans is a better name!"

"Stay out of this, Magnus! As I was saying, no talk about the couple of the century, because our counterparts aren't together. And if I know one thing about myself, it's that I look good in any haircut and I'm flighty. I'd be supes spooked out by it, which would cause me to loudly deny it, which would cause Barry to back off full stop. Then he'd start to avoid me and - you see how it spirals. Okay, cool, meeting over!"

"We'll all respect your wishes, but I have a couple other rules of conduct," Davenport says.

"Nope! She said the meetings over, no take backs!" Magnus says before fleeing the scene.

"Where is he even going?" Lucretia asks. "He - he can't be going to work out, right? That's just absurd. He - he wouldn't, right?" She's deeply disturbed that she can't answer without doubts.

"Nah, if sick gains were his endgame he'd be doing push-ups right here, right now, " Lup scoffs. "Showoff."

"Bet you fifteen dollars that he and the other Magnus get into a push-up competition," Barry says.

"Nah, they'll obviously do that. I'll bet a week of dishwashing duty that our Maggie is gonna win" Merle says.

"I'll take that action!" Taako smirks, shaking hands with Merle. Then he's deep in thought, pondering what spells he could use to rig the system.

"So, what's your counterpart like?" Barry asks. "Obviously a lot cooler, since she doesn't have a lameo boyfriend."

"She's dope. Get's really tense whenever alternate you - whose last name is Hallwinter, like a human person - gets brought up. She isn't standing in her truth yet. That's a lameo move, if you ask me. But not if you ask other me - jeezy creezy, this is gonna be rough."

"Huh." Barry pauses to think. "Is it bad that I think my other self, er, Hallwinter, is gonna be a major dork?"

"Well doy, he's still you." She sticks her tongue out.

"Yeah, yeah, but like - god, I was sort of pathetically in love with you? I mean, I guess I still am, but I was really a doofus. I had some bad self-confidence issues. That sorta shit."

"Does it help if I say I was sort of pathetically in love with you?" Lup asks, enjoying his hand in hers for as long as it will last.

"Yea," he mumbles. "I just hope I don't have frosted tips. I was so close to-"

"MAGNUS!" Said man yells, re-entering the room with Fischer hovering nearby. "Couldn't forget the most important crew member!"

Davenport, who's stationed himself by the window, makes a noise. "They're about to come in. Best behavior, all of you."

\---

It's odd, meeting your alternate self - who you could have been. You see the thousands of tiny decisions that lead to a different person.

Alt Magnus has not seen decades of suffering, he has not decided what strength truly is, he has not grown up. His attitude is more haughty than happy-go-lucky; confidence that is endearing in one crew becomes annoying in another. A distinctive x-shaped scar on his cheek distinguishes the two Magni (the plural term they decide on).

Merle changes very little, personality-wise. Alt Merle still doubts if he's earned his place on the team, but the current Merle hasn't exactly got self-care down either. He has a flower they've never seen before in his beard, which he promises to show Merle. There is a plant sex joke made that they all choose to ignore.

Barry Hallwinter - as predicted - is a throwback to their first cycles. He is wearing blue jeans, because of course he is, and his glasses are tortoiseshell. He has the same curiosity in his eyes, but rarely asks questions. He is still a bundle of nerves, always in fear of being wrong, determination without the willpower. He looks at Barry like a complete stranger, wondering how he was capable of such a change.

Alt Lucretia (also known as 'Cretia, the other was Luc) had a similar change, her wallflower tendencies accentuated. She does not yet know what she is capable of. She pours herself into Luc's journals, eager to know the stories they hold.

(She approaches with questions after reading the account of Cycle 47 - the Legato Conservatory. Luc is completely honest. Despite many differences, she knows she's not a snitch.)

It often seemed that Davenport's whole life was this mission. Then it makes sense that alt Davenport would be restless, searching for something that could be his. He is unsatisfied with the theoreticals and paperwork his job entails, and only as he's studying the bond engine does he feel alive.

Alt Lup has the same qualities as our Lup, just in different amounts. Her playful teasing turns mean, carefree attitudes turn to denial. Lup realizes Barry has made her soft, and even more horrifying, she doesn't hate that. Greg Grimaldis doesn't have a debt to her other self, but they both managed to collect 26 dollars. She adjusted for inflation.

Taako 69 (nice? Our Taako, Taako 420, didn't get the joke), seemed the same at first. Until they get a tour of the IPR facilities, and he reveals his betrayal.

They are in a laboratory. "Aww yea, lab 302! The old stomping grounds!"

"The WHAT NOW?" He asks while going through all five stages of grief. He really was an evil clone. He'd have to murder him. "You're a nerd? The fuc-"

"Aww hell no, I'm too pretty for that," alt Taako says. "I just hung out with Lulu here, because I love my dearest sister so much."

"Nah, don't go with that BS. The walls are super thin and the breakroom is next door." She sits herself on the counter, underneath the vent. "He'd listen for some hot goss to blackmail people with."

"Well, that too, but I also loved you dingus!"

"Past tense? Et tu, Taako?"

The bickering continues, and Taako breaths a sigh of relief. The two crews are different in many ways - so very different - but some things never change.

\---

The sixty-third cycle is one of their calmest, a close second to the beach year. But there is still work to be done (there always is). Along with the IPR, they prepare the populace for the incoming apocalypse.

But for the first time in years, they are not afraid. They do not need to learn a new alphabet, they know what is poisonous and what is safe, and even if it's a little different, it's home.

Home, with their favorite casual Italian eateries and movies. They only brought 14 movies for their supposedly two-month trip, and were in dire need of new content.

Every Friday, alt Davenport would give them V.I.P access to the screening room, and both crews would join for a movie night. Lup usually loved this, but she couldn't stand this movie. She has seen it 78 times.

Trolls 2.

Alt Taako was putting away some new movies - ones that she hasn't seen 78 times - when he spotted it. Trolls 2 is a children's movie in this reality - although she can't imagine how such a dark, gritty, irreverent flick could be made PG.

"There's another fringe group who thinks the Hunger is a government conspiracy," Barry mutters. The two of them are at the back of the theater and haven't been paying attention. Andy Mac's character gets swallowed whole. "And another who's saying we're aliens, which is true. But we're also from the sun, according to them."

"Huh. How exactly do we walk on the sun? Cuz if they can figure out a way, that sounds sick." Lup throws some popcorn into her mouth.

He opens his mouth and points to the popcorn, and she tosses some straight into his mouth.

"Nothin' but net," she grins. "Be quiet - this is my least favorite part, I wanna shit on it thoroughly."

Tyler Mickelroi gets a closeup. Everything is silent. He starts to unconvincingly sob, and -

Alt Barry yawns, stretching his hands straight up into the air. He keeps them up for two seconds, then brings them down.

"Oh my god, forget my MST3K - he did your signature move! Did you see that?" Lup asks, careful to keep her voice hushed.

"I - what? He was just about to do the Move but chickened out."

"Yea, exactly! You did that like, 12 times to me. I got sick of it eventually, so I yawned loud enough so it was clearly fake and followed through."

"Wait - you did that on purpose?" Barry wishes he could properly express his shock in his voice.

"Duh! Oops, I just happened to put my arm there! Golly gee-" Lup covers her face to contain her giggles. "C'mon, even after we started d-a-t-i-n-g you didn't think...?"

"I mean - I didn't have to think about it too much after that. I had more to hold onto than awkward movie hugs."

"Don't be too sappy or I'm gonna-"

Alt Lup rests her head on alt Barry's shoulder. She slumps down to do this, being six inches taller than him. It's not a natural position, but she looks pretty happy.

"Oh damn!" She whispers. "You - he - there's no way to think that was accidental, right?"

"Uh - I don't think so, but there is a way to think it was just a prank."

"Why were we so bad at this?" She mumbles. Like teens on a first date, he grabs her hand beneath the seats.

"I dunno, but we made it, didn't we?"

"Yeah. We did."

\---

"I was wondering, uh - how exactly does Pan feel about having two Merle's?" Barry asks casually. The cleric is deep in thought before he responds.

"I dunno."

"You... don't know? It - it's never come up?" He is not sure what he expected.

"Nah - Ol' Pan and I don't really talk about stuff like that." He grabs a banana from the decorative fruit bowl, placed in the IPRE kitchen for a splash of color. "I think he'd be pretty excited! He's a chill guy, but most Pannites are uptight. Think he'd be happy to know there's another person like me."

"Well, I guess - you're the-" He finds himself at a loss for words. Merle eats his banana, peel and all."You baffle me."

\---

Barry and Lup are together in their quarters. He's trying to sleep, she's reading a book. Lup doesn't plan on resting, as it's 2AM and her attempts at meditating have failed. There's an odd noise which startles Barry, who was already tossing and turning.

"Mmm, Lup, did you hear that?" He asks wearily.

"Yea," she says, running a hand through his hair. "It's just the noise from the city, don't worry about it."

"I know, it's just - "

"One of those nights," they say in unison.

"Wanna talk about it?" She asks softly. "Or do you just wanna chill?"

"I feel like I'm being watched - like the Hunger is gonna come early and all of this preparation is for nothing," he murmurs.

"Hey, babe, it's six more months 'till Daddy Vorebucks shows up. We've got empirical evidence, it's always one year. It's gonna be fine," she whispers.

"Mhmm, yea, you're right, you always are," he smiles. "Can we go take a walk? Get some fresh air?

"Sounds great." She presses a kiss to his forehead. "Just lemme get some clothes on, because I'm a person who actually exists and doesn't sleep in jeans."

"Okay, okay," he mumbles, putting on his glasses. He swears he hears another noise, and is just glad he'll be getting out. Lup has thrown on an IPRE sweatshirt and leggings. She looks gorgeous, he thinks, but that's just a given.

"Shall we go?" She offers him her arm, which he takes in his own.

They start discussing the book Lup was reading - a favorite of Barry's that he forgot to bring with him the first time. Maybe it's this interesting conversation, the sleep deprivation, or something else entirely that makes the final noise go undetected.

Alt Lup, having finished her surveillance, teleports into the Starblaster. She casts a silencing spell on herself, which really should have come first, but hindsight is 20/20. Her impersonations of her doppelganger have all failed due to wardrobe differences. So she'd steal some of her clothes, do some grifts, then reveal the deception. Or maybe she wouldn't - other Lup had some sweet digs. Finders keepers.

Her plan was simple, elegant. She cast Find the Path to locate which room was her own. She was prepared to use Knock, but there was no need - it was unlocked.

She's got a queen bed, and luckier still, other her isn't in it. Everything seems to be working out perfectly, until she opens the closet.

One rack is perfectly normal - glittery skirts and graphic tees. But as she inspects the other rack, they're not her size, and definitely not her style. It's denim all the way down.

It's hard to describe the way she processes this. As she turns back to the bed, the clues are all there: a scientific journal (the type she couldn't stand, with meaningless jargon) on the bedside table, uneven covers indicating a struggle, and a small painting above the bed. The style is distinctly Lucretia's - other Lup is in a fancy red dress holding a similarly snazzy Barry's hand on a stage.

She's beyond denial at this point. She likes Barry, but doesn't plan to ask him out. She almost did, once, after movie night. They had a Moment and everything felt so right and his eyes were so blue and-

"You, uh, excited to start the bond-engine replication project?"

And she realized two things as he asked that, so nervous over an innocuous question.

1\. He definitely liked her back.

2\. She couldn't risk asking him out.

Because she was excited about the project - even though it involved all the mumbo-jumbo she hated - and the reason was that he was her partner.

They worked well together, really crazy good together. If this was just an attraction, she could swing that. Be open that she was just interested in a casual thing - she was sure they could make that work.

But that's not what she wanted, and she suspects it's not what he wants either.

And then there's the fact that other Lup is clearly making it work and never thought to mention that.

So she sits on the bed and starts planning out what she'll say to traitorous-liar-Lup when said traitorous liar returns.

She'll have to wait a while. Lup and Barry leisurely stroll down the empty halls of the Institute's third floor, home to the science department.

"Can we take a break? I'm getting tired," he yawns. "Just wanna rest my legs for a bit.

"Sure thing," she says. "How many spell slots you got? 'Cuz I'm not gonna use my last one to cast fucking Knock."

"Uh, 2, but I'll bet one of these rooms is still unlocked." He twists the knob of room 303, which doesn't give.

"You really shouldn't gamble," she laughs.

He then succeeds in opening 302. "Bam!" He yells. Usually, he would worry about disturbing others, but doubts anybody would be here at this hour.

[Next door, in the break room with infamously thin walls, Barry Hallwinter awakes from his nap.]

"Well, I take it back," she says as they enter the lab. The left side of the room is cluttered with experiments, the right side is pristine. The door is on the left side, so they see an unfinished project. Lup's ears perk up. "Hey - hey, babe-"

[He is not alarmed by this. The fact his counterpart and Lup are in the building is weird, but she calls plenty of people babe. He does not lead himself on.]

"Oh gods, Lup - your ears are doing the thing you do whenever you make a bad pun," he groans.

"Damnit! My stupid ears-"

"No, don't - you know I love your ears, right?"

[A perfectly normal platonic compliment between two platonic friends.]

"That's sweet and all, but you're trying to make me forget about my pun," she smirks. "Do you know why we're great lab partners? Because we have so much chemistry!"

[His heart lurches. There is a piece he is missing, surely. An inside joke, body language making intentions clear - something to make sense of this.]

"You-you've used that 100 times!" He giggles.

"And yet you're still laughing."

"Yeah, I guess I am." He gives her a soft kiss, which leaves her shocked.

[She's not the only one.]

"Holy shit! It finally happened!" She squeals, quickly kissing him all over.

"Uh, Lup, we've kissed thousands of times before-"

[This is wild, this doesn't make sense --]

"Tens of thousands. But never in the lab, because of your dumb rule of 'no making out in the lab'! And then you won't even chastely, very tastefully kiss me, since you're worried things will get out of hand."

[He did notice how close the two were, how comfortable they were together. But he thought he was just projecting. Because the alternative--]

"It's not a dumb rule, it's just neither of us likes to clean and so-" He looks around the room, towards the spotless right side and cocks up an eyebrow. "This lab has a clean side."

She would normally tease him gently for that stupid eyebrow move, but dammit, this is a major fantasy for her. "Hell yeah!"

[He doesn't think he'd be lucky enough for Lup to choose him in two separate universes. He's not even sure how they got together in one--]

She grabs him and lifts him up onto a countertop. They've gotten very good at kissing over the last few years, practice does make perfect. He's warm and soft and hers - she wonders how she got so lucky.

He runs a hand through her hair and closes his eyes. She is the entire world, the whole universe - nothing exists except her. How lucky he is, to be in her galaxy.

[He's got so many questions but he just - he can't just go in and ask them! Because they didn't tell him for a reason. Probably didn't want to get his hopes up. How is he going to--]

She places her forehead on his. They live in the peace of the moment before she softly says, "I love you so much. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," he says, voice steady because he does know it's true. "I love you so much too."

[How is he going to face Lup? "Our counterparts totally made out in the lab last night, unrelated, do you maybe wanna make out?" Or he could just not tell her, but she's smart. She'll figure out something is wrong and be mad he didn't tell her--]

He leans in to continue the kiss but ends up yawning on her face. "Sorry, I guess I didn't notice how tired I was getting."

"No worries, sleeping beauty. Can I get a rain check on this, though?"

"Of course. But uh, if I'm sleeping beauty, princess charming is gonna have to kiss me to awaken me from my sleep..."

"Dork." She picks him up bridal style and kisses him. "You know I'm your girlfriend, we don't have to be cute about that anymore."

"But you're cute about everything," he sleepily murmurs.

[He hears them leave, and without the chatter, there's no noise but his beating heart. He's so fucked.]

\---

Speaking of totally fucked:

"Heeeeeey, sister! You've got some 'splaining to do," Alt Lup says, with a saccharin smile and a murderous voice. She's sitting on the end of their bed, her legs swinging.

"Aw beans," Barry mumbles, low enough only for his Lup to hear.

"Why the fuckity are you in our room?" Lup asks.

"So not the problem here. The issue is," she gestures wildly towards Barry. "This! Also, I was gonna steal your clothes, pretend to be you, and scam some dipshits. Taako bet me one-hundo I couldn't fool Taako 420."

"Damn, that's a great idea, wish you had got me in on that."

Barry is a fish out of water. He clings to his girlfriend and considers disappearing.

"Nope! You're a liar Lup who kept secrets," once more, her hands flail in Barry's general direction, "from me, so you don't get to join my zany schemes. "

"This conversation would probably be a lot easier if I wasn't here, I think," Barry says. "So, uh. I'm gonna crash on the couch. Carry me back to bed when you're done?"

"You betcha, babe." She kisses him goodnight. "Sleep well."

Alt Lup can't deny that a part of her yearns for this - sleepy kisses and all that jazz. But that domesticity? Not her area of expertise, and she doesn't like doing things she's not good at.

Lup casts Silence. "That was my last spell slot; please appreciate my sacrifice. Just in case emotions get heated. "

"Why didn't you tell me about this? Woulda been nice to know that this dumb crush I have could turn into an actual... thing!"

"That's not what you'd think at first, though. You were shocked, right?"

"Nah, I was pretty chill! Other me has fucking moved in with Barry Bluejeans!"

"Mhm, so if other people were around and asked how you felt about Barold, what would you say?"

"Uh. Nothing, ch'girl would bolt."

"Barry would hear about that. He'll avoid you, because he really doesn't wanna make you uncomfortable, but he's still getting over you. And then it just all spirals," she says. "It's a delicate sort of thing. We... we didn't wanna spook you guys.

"I really want you to be wrong," alt Lup grumbles. She crawls under the covers."But, it's - I know now. So now I've gotta do something with that."

"What do you wanna do?"

Alt Lup laughs. "It's like you're my fuckin' therapist. Well, the ideal thing is to skip all the awkward parts and have a nice relationship with him, but that ain't realistic. It's - we have such a good partnership, it feels selfish to risk that."

"No pain, no gain. No risk, no reward," Lup offers, like some tacky sign middle-aged soccer parents buy.

"It's really weird getting advice on my love life from myself," she says. "Eh. Still better than Taako's advice."

"Damn straight," she chuckles, scooching closer to alt Lup."So we're good, right?"

"Yea, we're good. One mo' question, just indulge me for a hot sec - how the fuck am I gonna do this?" She asks. Lup furrows her brow.

"That's vague as shit," she says. "Like, how are you gonna ask him out?"

"How am I supposed to bring up this whole situation? 'Would you like to go out to dinner tonight? Also, our other selves are totally boning!'"

"I'd change the order around - like, show it as cause 'n affect. Saw how incredibly, unspeakably happy we were, wanted that for yourself. And I'd avoid using the word boning!" She puts an arm around her. "Then you'll be good to go."

"More like incredibly, unspeakably sappy," she scoffs. "But I always give the best advice - thanks for giving me a piece of that."

"I'm flattered," Lup grins. "One small Q for you: what would your couple name be?"

"Lubarry, duh."

\---

A fundamental characteristic of Lup is her impatience.

She is results driven, working best when she can see her efforts paying off. Once she has decided to do something, she has to get it done - nothing is capable of stopping her.

Except for human beings and their dumbass sleep schedule.

Barry gets up at 7:09 AM (his alarm goes off at 7, but he always hits snooze).

It is 4:21 AM. (So close.)

She's got a long way to go. Whenever she tries to meditate, read, do anything but think about him, her mind wanders.

She walks the third floor of the Institute. It's eerie at this time of night, the fluorescents are dimmed and the world is still. She loves it - it's weird as fuck and feels like hers, in a strange sort of way. Not many people get to see it like this.

Barry has, though. They'd stay up all night, researching together. He was always on edge, something she assumed was from his weird human body. But he once confessed he was scared, said it so soft she could barely hear it.

So she enchanted a labcoat for him, gave it night vision and +2 performance. The last one was an accident, but she just rebranded and called it the 'fabcoat'. When he put it on, he hugged her so tight she thought she would burst.

And now she's thinking about him again. Damn it.

There's a light on in lab 302. She enters absentmindedly, and there he is.

He's got the worst bedhead she's ever seen, there are heavy bags under his eyes, he looks-

"Woah! Uh - hi, Lup. I look like shit."

Handsome. Cute. Perfect.

He seems embarrassed of the words, as if he didn't intend to say them aloud. [He didn't.]

"Nah, don't pull that, you look-" Adorable. Hot. Attractive. "fine. Like, dayumm, you look foine! Not just okay-fine."

He's wearing the fabcoat (she embellished the IPR patch with rhinestones) despite the lights being on. [He's wearing it because it reminds him of her.]

"Thanks, you too. Look fine. Dayum foine fine," he blurts out. "Agh, I'm sorry it's just a super weird night, and I have something I need to tell you but it's also super weird."

"Woa, same here! Vis-a-vis weird night and weird things I need to tell you," she gulps. "Uh, yea. So-"

"You first-"

"So what did-"

They awkwardly laugh. She takes a deep breath.

"Other Lup and Barry are dating, they have been for a super long time, they've moved in together. I was doing that clothes stealing heist when I found out. And I talked with the other Lup about it-" Surprisingly, Barry does not seem shocked until the next sentence. "Seeing her with him and talking to her, uh, it made me realize that I wanted that too. For a while, actually. So, that's - that's the latest from Lup! It's all out there. I'm all exposed."

"I'd at least like to buy you dinner first-" Lup bursts out laughing. She was prepared for so many results, but not that. "I'm processing a lot of feelings - good feelings! - and my first instinct is to make that joke, I'm sorry."

"No, don't - good feelings. That's, uh. Good," she stumbles. She cannot remember the last time she felt this way.

"This isn't a prank, right? Before I also, uh, expose myself, just gotta make sure. It's entrapment if you don't tell me."

"Nope. Not a prank - just genuine feelings. Wild," she says. He runs a hand through his hair.

"Well, I guess our other selves are just bad at this secret thing? Because I was napping in the breakroom, and they woke me by making out in this lab. And I don't really know what to say, since I had this whole speech prepared. That it was my duty as your friend to tell you, and since the topic was unavoidable I'd talk about how majorly into you I am, but I don't expect you to feel the same just because of other Lup. But that's not really applicable anymore."

Her ears perk up. "Your hypothesis was incorrect."

"Who's making bad jokes now?" he laughs. "Who am I kidding, I think that was hilarious. But, uh. Yep! What do you wanna do about this?"

"Well, if you're up for it, I'd love to follow in the footsteps of our counterparts and make out in this lab," her voice squeaks a little. She smiles hopefully, and he does too.

"I'm - I'd like that. Yeah."

They both hesitate, worried they'll fail to live up to expectations. She's the one who closes the gap with her lips on his.

Their noses bump and his glasses are in the way. It is far from the dreamy kiss they both imagined. But it is perfect, everything they wanted and more, because it is real.

\---

"You got the disguise spell ready?" Alt Lup, who is already a mirror image of our Lup, asks.

"Yep." The differences between the two Barry's are minor, but he still uses a spell. There's a lot riding on this.

Barry and Lup watch the action, cloaked by an invisibility spell. It's cute seeing the other two together - a look back into their honeymoon phase. And it means PDA is back. Always a plus.

Their disguised counterparts enter the Starblaster living room, where Magnus, Merle, and Taako are hanging out. Then they start to smooch the brains out of each other, they're just going to town.

"Blegh, LuLu, get a room!" Taako yells. She immediately drops the spell.

"You thought I was your Lup, we've got two impartial witnesses! Ch'girl is making BANK!"

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to KHG (narumitsu on ao3) for not only being my best friend, but for making this possible. She took my like... 15 pastebin dumps, beta'd them, and got it onto ao3. <3
> 
> and to aquamech, who liked my dumb idea enough to make me write this. your constant support kept me going, and our conversations inspired the best parts of this story.
> 
> and thank you for reading this! kudos and comments are always appreciated, you can talk to me @creme_lee on twitter.


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